He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including 'Korero', International Ceramics Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan; 'CLASH' (2010), Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle; McClelland Outdoor Sculpture Survey (2008), McClelland Art Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Victoria; 'Snap Freeze: Still Life Now' (2007), TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria; 'Strange Cargo: Contemporary art as a state of encounter', Newcastle Region Gallery and touring regional Australia. Doolan's work has been documented and reviewed widely, both internationally and nationally in a variety of media including the recent publication, 'Crackle: Contemporary art from the middle of nowhere'. He has written for national and international contemporary art journals – 'Sculpture News', 'Artworld', 'Art and Text', 'Art and Australia', 'Monument', 'Art Monthly', 'Art Collector' – and for newspapers such as 'The Age', 'The Sunday Age', 'The Sydney Morning Herald', 'Jakarta Post' and 'The Australian'.

Doolan’s work features in many private collections, as well as in public collections both locally and abroad.

Research interests

Doolan's tableaux, recalling the gothic undertow of children's fairytales, aim to capture and reveal a key junction in an undisclosed narrative. The storyline may continue in any of several different and familiar directions; a turning point, that is ultimately left unresolved.

There is a deliberate intention with this work to prompt forgotten memories of childhood and question the way we perceive ourselves in the adult world, providing a new pathway for understanding how our childhood has impacted on and influences the way we behave as adults.

Doolan, M. (2010). 1. Once Upon A Time. In: Once Upon A Time. Craft Cubed Exhibitions. The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia.

Doolan, M. (2010). 1. then is not now (red) 2. then is not now (blue) 3. then is not now (purple) 4. then is not now (orange). In: Melbourne Art Fair. Melbourne Art Foundation. Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia.

Doolan, M. (2010). 1. Once Upon A Time. In: Once Upon A Time. Craft Cubed Exhibitions. The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia.

Doolan, M. (2010). 1. then is not now (red) 2. then is not now (blue) 3. then is not now (purple) 4. then is not now (orange). In: Melbourne Art Fair. Melbourne Art Foundation. Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia.